United States holds last meeting as Chair of OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation

VIENNA, 24 March 2021 — The United States fostered meaningful dialogue and sought to set the stage for rebuilding military transparency and confidence over the course of its Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) Chairpersonship, said Courtney Austrian, United States Chargé d’Affaires, as she opened the last FSC meeting under the US FSC Chair.

“The core objective of the US FSC Chairpersonship has been to promote ‘goal-oriented dialogue’ to enhance security cooperation — a foundational principle of the FSC, ever more relevant and necessary today for us to collectively address current challenges to European security and build back trust,” said Austrian.

Austrian provided an overview of the activities organized by the United States since it took over the FSC Chairpersonship in January. These included security dialogues that addressed perceptions about NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence, advancing modernization of the Vienna Document, nonproliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, and the importance of implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

In her keynote remarks, Laura Cooper, United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia at the Office of the Secretary of Defense, highlighted the US FSC Chair’s efforts to foster trust, transparency, and predictability among participating States to help counteract the deterioration of security in the OSCE region.

Connecting and exchanging viewpoints among officials is “absolutely critical when regional tensions run high,” Cooper said, noting how the FSC’s High-Level Military Doctrine Seminar (HLMDS), organized by the US FSC Chair, facilitated “candid and open engagement” among more than 300 senior-level military officials from across the OSCE area. “In the OSCE, we must continue to engage on the real security threats facing our region, rather than seeking to sweep issues under the rug as somehow too sensitive to discuss,” she added.  

Cooper emphasized that the FSC has a unique role to play in strengthening transparency and reducing risks toward rebuilding confidence, and that the informal Structured Dialogue can also continue to advance these issues.

“The FSC has the right expertise and tools to put in place measures to combat misperceptions amidst deep deficits in trust and heightened tensions,” she said. “I truly think the FSC has the ability to contribute to incredibly positive changes, especially by openly and candidly addressing the most difficult challenges facing Europe and Eurasia.”

Richard Hudson, Chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Political Affairs and Security Committee and representative of the United States to the Parliamentary Assembly, addressed the US FSC Chair’s agenda and outlined complementary work being carried out by the Parliamentary Assembly.

Following the close of its FSC Chairpersonship, the United States will become part of the FSC Troika, which is formed by the incoming and outgoing FSC Chairpersonships. On 12 April 2021, Armenia will take up the FSC Chairpersonship, and Austria will join the FSC Troika.